Five Takeaways From No. 7 Alabama Football's Loss to No. 11 Tennessee

What went wrong for the Crimson Tide in its road loss to the Volunteers?

Oct 19, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans tear down the goal posts after a victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide and at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images / Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— The No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide fell to No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday with a 24-17 loss on the road.

After 15 years of dominance in the Third Saturday in October rivalry, Alabama has now fallen in two of the last three meetings, both of which occurred in Knoxville. While the first loss in 2022 was an all-out shootout, it was made clear early that the previous 52-49 score was never a possibility.

There's so much to dissect from this matchup at Neyland Stadium that ended in fireworks, a field storming and a couple of torn-down field goalposts. Here are five takeaways:

An Impressive Start Defensively

Following the Tide's escape over South Carolina, there was plenty of concern for the next opponent, as Alabama was shifting focus to Tennessee. The Volunteers' potent offense had been struggling the past couple of games, as they lost to Arkansas on the road the same week as Alabama fell to Vanderbilt, and Tennessee narrowly defeated Florida this past week despite being the host.

On Saturday in Knoxville, in the headlining "recent struggles battle" between Tennessee's offense and Alabama's defense, the Crimson Tide was the victor of the first half, leading 7-0 heading into the break.

Against the pass, Alabama held Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava to 7-of-14 attempts in the first half for 99 yards and an interception by freshman Jaylen Mbakwe. In an earlier possession, Iamaleava suffered an injury and was out for one play. But on that snap, backup quarterback Gaston Moore threw a pick to Tide safety Malachi Moore.

Alabama also kept Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, who entered the game with an SEC-best 15 rushing touchdowns, in check in the first half, as he rushed for 35 yards on eight carries. That said, on the opening possession, Sampson logged a 20-yard run, but Alabama defensive lineman Jah-Marien Latham forced him to fumble and linebacker Jihaad Campbell recovered it.

One other major season-long concern for Alabama on both ends has been the time of possession battle. But the Tide won that category 20:09 to 9:24 in the first half.

Flags Were Too Close to New Record

In 2022's loss in Knoxville, Alabama set a new program record of 17 penalties. However, it's clear that the hostile environment got to the Tide once again.

Alabama logged 15 penalties on Saturday, 10 of which occurred in the first half. False starts by the offensive line, holding calls committed by both sides of the ball and even personal fouls were detrimental to the Crimson Tide's success.

Perhaps the most detrimental flag came via a personal foul wide receiver Kendrick Law on the final possession prior to the one-play game-sealing interception drive. The penalty pushed Alabama's fourth-and-7 to a fourth-and-22, which the Tide failed to convert giving Tennessee the ball in field goal range with under two minutes remaining in regulation.

"With the two games earlier in the year and this one, you just can't get over the hump, and it's going to put you in some situations where you've got your backs to the wall," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said during the postgame press conference. "We can't kill ourselves like that. There's times that you see that we're locked in, but we've got to be better. We've got to be better. There's no question. You can't win a football game when you have mistakes like we had out there and all the penalties."

Offense Couldn't Capitalize on Takeaways

Flags were too common after Alabama's aforementioned takeaways, as they prevented the Tide from adding more points on the board in the first half, despite being set up in good field position following the interceptions and fumble recovery.

Following the opening drive fumble, Alabama center Parker Brailsford's false start on second-and-long resulted in a punt a couple of plays later. After Moore's interception, a holding call on left tackle Kadyn Proctor combined with a delay of game shortly after resulted in a punt as well.

Alabama's offense struggled to move the ball in general on Saturday evening though, as even without a flag on Iamaleava's interception, the Tide proceeded to go three-and-out. Alabama punter James Burnip finished the game with seven punts for 327 yards (46.7 average) with a long of 59 yards, while two punts landed inside of the 20-yard line.

Tennessee's defense truly shut down the Alabama offense as the Tide's 17 points were the lowest total for the Crimson Tide in an SEC game since the 2017 Iron Bowl (which Alabama lost 26-14). Dating back to the Citrus Bowl, the Vols have yet to allow at least 20 points in the past eight contests, a feat they haven't accomplished since 1985.

Run Game Abandoned Yet Again

Ever since the Georgia instant classic win, Alabama has had a similar utilization of running backs Jam Miller and Justice Haynes on a weekly basis. The two of them are both noticeably featured in the first half both through the air and ground, but not in the second half.

This continued against the Vols, but the run game wasn't exactly used much in either half. Miller and Haynes were held in check in the first half, logging a combined 9 carries for 16 yards. The 1-2 punch finished the game with 20 total rushes for 64 yards and a touchdown by Haynes.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had far from his best game against the Vols through the air and ground, but the throwing game plan remained throughout as he finished with a by-far career-high 45 pass attempts (33 was his previous personal record), completing 25 of them (56 percent). Although their first halves were subpar, extra usage in the second half for Miller and Haynes in the second half could've chewed the clock a bit more, giving the defense more time to rest.

"They're a physical defense up front, and we knew you'd have to have a mix of run and pass," DeBoer said. "Tried to use J-Mil in the run game as well, but just trying to get a flow. Trying to find a time where you can get in a rhythm. The penalties hurt us to where you're behind the sticks...When you don't have the explosives, it's just too hard to stack plays a whole length of the field. You have to have some type of explosive plays."

Defense Struggled in Second Half

Sampson and Iamaleava woke up on the Vols' second drive of the third quarter as the running back had three carries for a combined 51 yards, while the quarterback had a 27-yard run. Sampson glided in for a two-yard score on his fourth attempt of the drive.

Following an Alabama field goal, Sampson's touchdown to reclaim the lead, but a 55-yard connection between Iamaleava and wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. set up another short touchdown run for Sampson to take a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter. In the third quarter alone, Tennessee defeated the Tide in passing yards and rushing yards and only trailed the time of possession battle by less than two minutes. Sampson had 71 yards on just eight carries (8.9 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns in the 15-game-minute span.

"That's what great teams do," Alabama defensive lineman Tim Smith said after the game. "You go into the halftime locker room, figure out things, analyze it, break it down and come out with something new. They made a few adjustments. I guess it may have worked for them but that's what all great teams do."

A few short and intermediate gains, which the Tide has had a rough time stopping of late, quickly put the Vols in the red zone, and the drive ended with a tough-to-grab 17-yard touchdown reception for Chris Brazzell II to reclaim the lead. After some more clock chewing with short gains and a couple of punts sprinkled in, a fourth-down stop by the Vols defense immediately put Tennessee in field goal range, which it converted to go up by seven with less than two minutes to go.

Tennessee won nearly every statistical category in the fourth quarter, including a 10:22 to 4:38 time of possession score. For the overall game, Tennessee recorded more total yards, nearly triple the amount of rushing yards, finished 6-of-14 on third down despite going 1-of-5 in the first half, and more average yards per play, completion and rush.